Under F for Friendship
by dcj
Summary: Set after 2.07 - Oliver joins Sam for a drink at the Penny; it was time for someone to collect on the bet.


Here's a quick little one shot. With all the re-do's of the last episode (2.07 The One that Got Away) and additions of missing scenes, I thought I'd throw in my two cents. So here's a little Sam/Oliver chat at the Penny at the end of the night. Andy went home with Traci and Sam just needed a drink.

As always, I do not own Rookie Blue.

Enjoy…

* * *

><p>Oliver pulled up a stool next to Sam's and set another glass of amber liquid in front of him; it was at least a double. Oliver knew him well.<p>

"I thought I was buyin'?"

"Yeah, well…evidence was circumstantial. No one actually saw you drink the phantom coffee McNally was out getting for you, so..."

"Doesn't mean I didn't." Sam defended as he made to empty the glass his friend had just given him.

"I'm pretty sure we both know what McNally was out chasing and it wasn't a cup of coffee for you."

Sam just dropped his chin in a defeated nod. _Nope…she was definitely not chasing coffee. And it was absolutely NOT coffee that just about got her killed._

Sam continued to stare at his hands as Oliver signaled the bartender for another round.

"I got this one." Sam offered as he reached into his pocket.

Oliver looked at him questioningly.

"What? I didn't see you drink a coffee either."

"Yeah, well…I did."

"But you thought the bet was over so..."

"Yeah, sure…let's go with that."

Sam looked up at him, this time with just a hint of a smile.

_It's a start. _"I was with Diaz all day…you would've cracked too." Oliver challenged.

Sam wasn't up for it though and the ghost of a grin was already a distant memory.

Oliver was at a loss. Small talk wasn't working and Sam wasn't one to go in for the 'big talk'. Heaven knows Oliver had tried with him, but the man just didn't talk about his feelings…and any attempts to get him to were usually met with more than a little hostility. So they simply sat side by side in silence; Oliver figured the least he could do was keep his friend company.

"I didn't have her back." Sam finally admitted.

_You know it's not good when he's actually volunteering information...time to talk him down._ "She's fine." Oliver assured.

"But she could've easily been…" Sam couldn't finish. He shook his head instead trying to erase the thought from his mind, all the while knowing it would be haunting him later in his sleep.

"But she wasn't."

Barely a beat had passed. "I was jealous."

Oliver's eyes widened. Even though he already knew, Sam had never admitted it. Oliver simply nodded hoping he would go on.

In a too loud voice, Sam did just that. "Oliver, the bastard cheated on her." He took a deep breath knowing he had to rein it in; it was obvious that Andy was trying to hide it and he wasn't about to let her down…again. So he lowered his voice and looked his friend in the eye. "He cheated on her. Did you know that?"

Oliver shrugged it off. "Pretty obvious if you care enough to think about it." And Oliver did care about Andy, maybe not in the same way that Sam did…but he definitely cared.

Sam nodded; that was exactly what he had told Andy. "I couldn't stand it anymore. She kept going on and on about what he knew and how she believed him. How could she have so much blind faith in him when he had just betrayed her trust in the worst possible way? How?"

"He was right." Oliver stated plainly.

"Fine." Sam admitted grudgingly. "…maybe he was, but that doesn't mean he deserved any kind of faith from her."

"And it doesn't mean she's still hanging on either Sammy."

Sam should have known that his friend would see right to the heart of the matter. But he wasn't convinced and he looked up at his friend in partial disbelief.

"It doesn't." Oliver insisted. "She was being a copper today. Even after being hurt in the worst possible way, she still she kept her eyes on the prize. She didn't let anything get in the way of finding the truth." And then Oliver threw in the kicker. "She trusted her gut."

Sam let his head fall in defeat; he knew Shaw was right. _She did everything the way he taught her. Maybe Nixon wasn't guilty in the case they were currently on, but Andy's gut told her that he was hiding something. And she was smart enough to put it all together; as soon as his little 'girlfriend' had said storage locker, Andy knew they had never looked for one. So she was going to._

While he could admit that Andy acted like the professional she was, albeit way too carelessly for his liking, Sam wasn't ready to let himself off the hook yet because when he thought about it…he had not. _Why did he have to leave her? Why did he let his feelings of jealousy take over? He could have been there with her…could have helped her. And the part that hurt the most…he could have been the one to keep her safe. He hated that Callahan, the man who was the reason she was so miserable to begin with, was the one that got to save her._ And all Sam was left with was the feeling of guilt over letting her get into that position in the first place.

Oliver quickly tired of watching his friend mentally berate himself. "She's fine, Sammy."

"I know…I just…"

"You can't live on what ifs. The guy is behind bars; McNally is safe at…" _Well, definitely not home…_Oliver really had no idea where Andy was so he looked over to Sam in question.

"Traci's couch."

"Hmmm."

"Yeah…worst couple days of her life and..." Sam had to stop for a second as he thought about how it could have been the **last** couple of days of her life too. "…and she's stuck sleeping on a hide-a-bed while that son of a bitch gets to…"

"Let it go, Sammy."

Sam took a deep calming breath, trying to follow his friend's advice. But the stillness had barely settled in before another thought struck him. "Do you think she'll ever trust me again?"

"What?" Oliver was completely shocked by the abrupt turn in the conversation; he knew that McNally trusted Sam probably more than anyone else in the world. The only other person who might even come close would be Traci.

"I walked away." Sam explained matter-of-factly. "She didn't even call me when she figured it out. I was her partner today, she found evidence, and she didn't even call me…she didn't trust me to back her up."

"Sam." His friend tried.

"No Oliver. She always calls me. Even when she was with Luke, she would call me for this kind of thing."

Oliver really didn't have an answer to that so he picked up his drink and let the silence take over once again.

After a few minutes, when it looked like Sam had said all he was going to say, Oliver spoke up again wondering if Sam was set to call it a night. "So you about ready to make a move?"

"She needs time." Sam answered, his mind unable to focus on anything outside the McNally spectrum of the universe.

"I know she does." Oliver agreed, easily switching back to McNally mode. "But when she sorts it all out, you're gonna need to step up this time."

Sam nodded; he knew his friend was right. He couldn't live like this anymore; it was too exhausting.

"Right now she has it filed under Friendship." Oliver continued to explain. "When SHE made the decision to commit to Callaghan that's all she could allow…"

Oliver let the thought trail off as he cleared his throat; he knew that Sam had also most likely stepped aside to help that decision along but he didn't feel the need to go there tonight. "But trust me when I say that eventually she's going to figure out that it fits better somewhere else."

Sam let his thoughts drift back to the time after the blackout and before that damn retraining day. There was something there and he knew she felt it too. But Oliver was right; after Sam let his feelings, or pride, or whatever it was, get in the way once again, they both just let it fall under friendship.

But that want for something more…it was always there in the back of Sam's mind, and for months he hadn't allowed himself to think it could possibly be reciprocated. But now…well now he hoped he hadn't blown his chance by leaving her alone. He knew trust was key for Andy, which was why he knew that Callaghan's day in the sun was over. He just wished he'd thought of that before he went off on her today.

She had said it was okay, and he really hoped that she meant it. He knew there was no way she would put her heart on the line for someone who might walk out on her.

Sam swallowed the last of his drink and stood; finally ready to make the move.

He told her he was there when it matters. He may have forgotten that today, but he would be damned if he ever made that mistake again.


End file.
